A Small Winery Renaissance in Southern California

Natasha Henstridge at Rosenthal Malibu Estate and Vineyards

A growing number of Southern California winemakers are producing premium wines in small-scale production, which is good news for the Southern California wine consumer. Wine lovers in California’s southern reaches are becoming savvy to the fact that Napa, Sonoma or even Paso Robles aren’t the only places to turn to for a good bottle of wine.

“There are exceptional and unique wines in our own backyard,” says Alexander McGeary, Southern California district director for the Wine Institute and president of the San Diego County Vintners Association. “The Southern California winemaking industry is experiencing a renaissance.”

California winemaking began in San Diego County, which is steeped in its tradition and history. Franciscan missionary Father Junípero Serra planted the first vineyard in Alta California at Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. His reputation as the “Father of California Wine” grew with the development of additional vineyards at missions up the coast and with the establishment of the winery at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in Los Angeles County, which became the largest winery in California.

The original harvest of California wine grapes centered on black-skinned grapes known as “mission grapes,” which dominated California wine production through the late 1800s. The first challenge the young industry faced occurred in 1830 when Mexico, including Alta California, gained its independence from the Spaniards and the mission vineyards were abandoned and all but disappeared.

In 1850, when California was annexed as a union state of the United States, wine found a new market with American soldiers. Since the Civil War, US wine production has remained predominantly in California, though its epicenter moved north as Southern California farmers turned their efforts to citrus and avocado. However, as the pendulum swings back, grape growers and winemakers in the south of the state have re-engaged with their local winemaking heritage.

Southern California is part of a 30-year surge of small winery start-ups, with most popping up in the past 10 years. “Ten years ago, in San Diego County alone, there were 10 wineries and today there are 42,” says McGeary, who is also president of Shadow Mountain Vineyards & Winery in Warner Springs (inland, North San Diego County). New laws have passed to help growers and winemakers expand their business such as allowing winemakers to sell wine at wine-tasting events. The drought-tolerant crop is popular at a time when water remains a scarce commodity.

Though urbanization has pushed many growers into the hills and tucked some into small valley pockets, the Southland wine grape growing region is flourishing. It extends from the fertile farmlands of the Santa Ynez Valley cradled by Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Monica Mountains just north of Los Angeles to the abundant microclimates and rich soils found in the verdant Cucamonga and Temecula valleys south of Los Angeles in inland San Diego County.

Color and Aroma Issue One

Winemakers can be found in those same well-known locales and in some less likely places like Newport Beach, Palos Verdes, Malibu and Studio City. With new, smaller tanks and facilities, one can make wine anywhere—on the shores of a back bay or even in an industrial warehouse.

Wineries that produce quantities of 250,000 gallons of wine or less per year are defined as “small wineries” by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Most of these small wineries in Southern California produce 25,000 gallons or less, according to McGeary. A few established families and many more entrepreneurs run some of the best of the nearly 90 small wineries in the Southland. Another term, “boutique,” is reserved for even smaller wineries producing 5000 gallons or less, of which there are many. “It’s a serious business here with the potential of making from $375,000 to about $1.9 million or greater per year per winery,” McGeary attests.

One of the oldest and more successful family-run wineries is the Galleano Winery of the Cucamonga Valley in the Inland Empire, which is still much the same as it was in 1927 when the Galleano family purchased their start-up parcel. For five generations, the parcel has multiplied and the family business has thrived, consistently garnishing awards for its sweet dessert wines, such as “Mt. Baldy” Cream Sherry, Muscat Canelli, Three Friends Port and 2000 Zinfandel Port.

Likewise, the Rizzo family has owned Bernardo Winery of Rancho Bernardo in San Diego County since 1927. It is still fully functional as a producing winery, though it has lessened in size and grown in character with an array of shops, a salon, and a café. It continues to produce award-winning wines that include an acclaimed 2005 Merlot.

But it’s the young bloods of Temecula who lead the charge for the Southern California small winery boom. Joe Hart of Hart Winery in Temecula, for example, began as a small planter and home winemaker in the 1970s. This family-run business now produces 5000 cases of premium wine annually, or a little more than 12,000 gallons.

The Harts cultivate and harvest a wide variety of quality grapes, placing special emphasis on Bordeaux and Mediterranean varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. To complement the grapes, their winery embraces the traditions and styles of European winemaking. Proprietor Joe Hart points to matching varietals with regional climate and soils for the increasing popularity of Temecula wines.

And there are even newer Turks on the scene. Hamilton Oaks Vineyard in Trabuco Canyon is recognized as the first commercial winery licensed in Orange County in almost 150 years. In 1989, owner Ron Tamez planted the hillside behind the family home with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and the dream of one day opening and operating a small winery. Today, the popular winery has received outstanding recognition for its award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Barbera, and Port.

According to Marc Raymond of La Maison Gourmet wine and cheese shop in Mission Viejo, Hamilton Oaks and

Rosenthal Malibu Estate

Rosenthal-The Malibu Estate in Los Angeles are two of the more exciting up-and-coming local wineries. “Both have the quality and consistency that are prime elements of a successful winery,” says Raymond. “Although new, they don’t treat their craft like some expensive hobby.”

Unfortunately, some winemakers in Southern California have approached winemaking in just this way. As baby-boomers mature, many jump ship to pursue their dreams of winemaking as a second career. Enticed by the economic rewards and lured by the romantic lifestyle, many of them wake up to discover a seven-day-a-week nightmare that’s eating up their life savings. These challenges make it difficult to consistently produce quality wine, which makes the region seem more erratic rather than promising. Southern California entrepreneurs face the serious challenge of not knowing enough about the industry.

Fortunately, San Diego County is currently partially funding a grant to develop seminars for new wine producers. These seminars will feature wine growing, winemaking and marketing. Those new to the wine industry can also take courses at Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and UC Davis and its extensions.

In December of 2007, Temecula Valley Winery Management announced it would move into a first-of-its-kind facility in Temecula. Here, winemakers will not only be able to lease space to produce wines but they can also get helpful information about growing grapes and how to manage the relatively complicated task of obtaining permits to open a winery and sell wine. The company will also help the neophytes learn how to market their precious elixirs.

Marketing, or lack of it, plagues the entire Southern California winemaking scene. As established vintners from Northern California made their way to Central California in the 1970s, they gave the Central Coast credibility and a unifying voice. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is an example of a powerhouse image-maker for the region. Even with similar associations established within Southern California, the entrepreneurial majority, claims McGeary, is headstrong and not yet able to work as a group. “Until that happens,” he adds, “people will think of us as a retirement gig and won’t take us or our wines seriously.”

But some Southland wines and winemakers are already attracting serious notice and receiving both the buzz and the gold medals that get attention from the consumer and bring success to the vintner and the region.

Steve Ebol, wine director and award-winning sommelier at the time-honored Antonello Ristorante in Santa Ana, highlights his favorites: “Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery-owner Richard Moriarty is an agriculturalist with a passion for soil. He combines his love of wine with his love affair for the vine. His passion and sense of quality have produced a Back Bay Cuvée Meritage blend that is phenomenal.

“Leon Santoro of Italy, winemaker and general manager of Orfila (Vineyards) in Escondido, makes wine only from Rhone-style varietal grapes – Syrah, which is the pride and joy of French grapes, and Viognier, an exotic white-wine grape. Thornton Winery in Temecula is a sparkling-wine specialist. Its reserve wines equal some of the best sparkling wines of Napa and Sonoma.

“Rosenthal-The Malibu Estate produces a Cabernet Sauvignon that is pure indulgence.” Ebol continues, “Velvety, aromatic, and is perfect for meats and delicate enough for many seafood dishes. You’re lucky if you can get one of its reserves, which are pure, massive, masculine, and conducive to food-specific dishes.”

More recognition and a defined image for the Southern California wine region are still needed to spur its success. Legislation allowing wineries in San Diego County to offer wine tasting on-premises for the very first time is currently being reviewed. Its passage will be significant in terms of both marketing directly to the public and in developing an ancillary tourism trade that will tap into the region’s 32.2 million annual visitors.

The time is near when SoCal can truly play with the “big boy” wineries farther north and carve a noticeable share of the wine consumer dollar. For now, Southland wines have been a well-kept secret that’s starting to get out of the bag.

– by Diane Pinnick

– photos by Eric Stoner